President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration has given its approval for a supplementary budget of N2.18 trillion for the 2023 fiscal year. This additional budget allocation will cover various areas, including defense, infrastructure projects, and welfare programs like wage awards and conditional cash transfers, as per agreements reached with Organized Labour.
The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, made this announcement following the Federal Executive Council meeting. He emphasized that the supplementary budget is intended to address pressing issues, particularly national defense and security.
Specific allocations within the supplementary budget include N605 billion for national defense and security, aimed at maintaining and enhancing the progress made in the security sector. These funds are considered essential for the needs of security agencies for the remaining part of the year.
Additionally, N300 billion has been allocated for repairing bridges, including the Eko and Third Mainland Bridges, as well as road construction, rehabilitation, and maintenance across the country, with the goal of completing these projects before the onset of the rainy season.
The budget also provides N210 billion for wage awards. In negotiations with the Nigeria Labour Congress, the Federal Government agreed to pay N35,000 to approximately 1.5 million federal government employees, covering the months of September, October, November, and December 2023.
Another significant allocation is N400 billion for cash transfer payments. The federal government had secured an $800 million loan from the World Bank to provide cash transfers of N25,000 to 15 million households for two months, October and November. President Tinubu approved an additional month to be funded by the federal government, necessitating the allocation of N100 billion for this purpose.
The supplementary budget also includes N200 billion for seed, agricultural input, supplies, and agricultural infrastructure to support increased production. Additionally, N100 billion has been allocated for urgent and immediate capital expenditure infrastructure works in the Federal Capital Territory.
Other provisions in the supplementary budget include N18 billion for the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct elections in Bayelsa, Kogi, and Imo; N5.5 billion for funding the launch of the student loans board, set to begin loan disbursement in January 2024; N8 billion for the establishment of new ministries; and N200 billion for capital supplementation to address urgent requests from various parts of the country, as requested by the President.